Meteorologist who predicted deadly LA fires is praised for saving hundreds of lives in his neighborhood – as he reveals warning sign everyone missed

A child-faced meteorologist is being hailed as a hero for raising the alarm about looming fires in Los Angeles and urging his community to flee the inferno.

Edgar McGregor, a 24-year-old Altadena resident, shared updates on his community’s Facebook page on Jan. 7, hours before several megafires broke out across Southern California.

He warned his neighbors not to go to sleep, pack a bag and prepare for an immediate evacuation.

Speak with PeopleMcGregor said it dawned on him a week before the fires that the weather conditions could be “catastrophic” and he began the arduous task of convincing anyone who would listen.

“I knew on December 30 that when this storm hit, conditions would duplicate conditions on the ground in Lahaina, Hawaii and in Paradise, both of which were completely leveled and each lost about a hundred people,” said he.

The dry brush had been piling up for months, and without any rain to usher in winter, when McGregor saw the wind in the forecast around New Year’s Day, he knew the risk was enormous.

‘I told the people: if a forest fire breaks out, a thousand houses will burn down. This would be catastrophic.”

McGregor feared his warnings might have been a bit ‘excessive’, but he has since been proven right.

The Eaton Fire, which swept through his neighborhood and the foothills of Pasadena, has already burned 14,117 acres, destroyed at least 7,000 structures and killed 16 people.

Mandy Moore’s home was among those charred beyond recognition in the Eaton fire.

And a larger fire, which first broke out in the upscale celebrity enclave of Pacific Palisades, has destroyed 24,707 acres of land stretching from Santa Monica to Malibu.

Miles Teller, Mel Gibson and Paris Hilton are among the A-list celebrities who lost their homes in the inferno.

McGregor watched as the fire swept through his community, destroying his neighbors’ homes, along with hundreds of homes in the blocks surrounding his home.

Miraculously, his own house survived the inferno.

McGregor is an avid hiker and has watched in dismay as his local canyons fill with brush and dead leaves, serving as ignition for a fire.

“For years I’ve been telling people about this canyon, it’s been decades since we last had a wildfire, and the fuels are plentiful,” he said.

“I see dead trees piled up everywhere. So I knew this was coming. I certainly didn’t think January would be the month it would happen, but I hope I did my job in warning everyone.”

The 24-year-old climate scientist does not expect the red flag winds forecast in the coming days to pose a further threat.

But he said if the prolonged dry spell continues and rain doesn’t arrive soon, Hollywood and Santa Barbara could face a disaster within weeks.

“If we have another major storm in the coming weeks, Hollywood could be in for a disaster. Saint Barbara. Each of these towns at the foot of the hill. And if it rains, we have to get through it.”

“This isn’t over yet.”

In the Facebook group where McGregor initially posted his warnings, he was flooded with comments from grateful locals crediting him with saving their lives.

“Your warnings saved so many lives and allowed us to prepare for the evacuation well in advance. I’m glad you’re finally getting the widespread recognition you deserve,” said a local resident.

‘Your update was the first report I received about the fire and we took immediate action. We can’t thank you enough. you are a HERO,” another added.

At 8 a.m. on January 7, McGregor shared a lengthy forecast calling on his neighbors to “take time today to prepare.”

“This first round, which is currently producing low Class 3 conditions at Altadena, is just a small indication of what could happen,” he wrote.

The fire broke out that evening at 6 p.m.

Both the Eaton Fire and the Palisades Fire will continue to burn if:

As the fires spread quickly on the Santa Ana winds, new lawsuits from homeowners who lost everything blamed the Southern California Edison utility for the fire itself.

The lawsuits allege that SoCal Edison’s electrical equipment caused the Eaton fire, which razed the mountainous Pasadena and Altadena neighborhoods and is one of the largest wildfires, according to the court.

A spokesperson said in a statement that the electrical equipment is unlikely to have caused the Eaton fire, but extraordinary time-stamped footage appears to show the fire first rising through a series of power lines.

The lawsuits cited eyewitness accounts and footage that appeared to show a fire at the base of a transmission tower owned by Southern California Edison (SCE) before powerful Santa Ana wind gusts quickly spread the flames.

Witnesses shared videos on social media of a fire at the base of a cell tower that reportedly occurred shortly after the Eaton fire started.

Altadena resident Marcus Errico had previously told CNN he saw the very first flames of the Eaton fire at the base of a cell tower.

“I could see right across from us on the hill in Eaton Canyon a series of transformer towers with power lines stretching into the mountains. And at the base of one of them there was just a small ring of flame around the entire base.” he said.

“I can’t say with certainty that the power lines were the cause, but I can say with certainty that the first fire in Pasadena and Altadena – Eaton Canyon is right on the edge of Altadena and Pasadena – that’s where the fire started.

‘It was under that tower on Tuesday evening. It was…it started as a small fire underneath and within ten minutes the whole hill was engulfed by the fire.”